Arab Terrorist 'Wanted to Hurt Jews'

A Palestinian Arab terrorist who broke through a barrier of the southern Hevron Hills community of Beit Haggai Thursday afternoon wanted “to hurt Jews.”

The Arab broke through the barrier with his car, causing an accident in which his was the only vehicle involved. He was apprehended by security forces and told them that his intention was to hurt Jews. No weapons were found in his possession, however.

The Arab was taken for medical treatment at the Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem.

Earlier Thursday, soldiers guarding an Iron Dome installation near the resort city of Eilat fired on an Arab man after he ran at them screaming “Allahu Akbar”.

Fearing a terrorist attack, the soldiers shot at the man’s legs in order to stop him. The man was hit and injured.

He was taken to Eilat’s Yoseftal Hospital. It is not yet clear whether the man was armed and was attempting a terrorist attack, or is mentally ill.

The incident occurred as the officers were arresting dozens of Arab youths who had been throwing rocks at them. One of the attackers, a female, tried stabbing one of the officers. She was immediately stopped. The officer was not hurt.

All these incidents come just after the Israeli Security Agency (Shin Bet) released statistics noting that terror attacks have been on the rise in Judea and Samaria.

A statement from police reported the rocket "hit southern Israel in an open area south of (the town of) Netivot." It was the first time since Israel’s counterterrorism Operation Pillar of Defense that a Gaza rocket struck near Netivot.